Paniolo Pony Express

This is an excerpt from the fifth and final book in "The Faith Series," Providence: Leading of the Spirit:

The entire island of Kauai turned out for the First Annual Paniolo Pony Express. Governor Kiakona, and his wife, Papela, flew in from Honolulu to witness the event that his official farm advisor, Apelehama, had construed to him. He and Mandy saved the governor and his wife a spot along the rough brush leg that Lilia planned to ride. Jim and his horse, Rusty, waited with Lilia, and her horse, King. Lilia sat and waited with alertness in the western saddle that King wore. Jim had been imperturbable in his insistence that she should use a saddle.

Both Deek and Rick, the leaders of Teams Two and Three, intended to ride the rough brush leg for two reasons: First, because they were the team captains and the best riders on the team, and second, because they knew that Lilia planned to ride that leg too.

Lilia spied Wilson’s approach with Teams Two and Three right on his heels. Lilia completely ignored Jim and Rusty, and prepared herself, and King for their leg. She began cantering King, and when Wilson grew closer, picked up the pace to a slow gallop. She knew that she had to make progress against the other horses to further their chance of winning.

“Here we go!” Apelehama yowled to the governor, his wife, and Mandy. They watched with a heightened expectation as Wilson flew up to the galloping King and Lilia, and thrust the pouch with a spin towards her.

Lilia clutched it out of midair and yelled, “Hyah!” King burst into frenzied speed like the accomplished racehorse that he was. They tore across the landscape kicking up gravel, stones, grass, and other foliage in their quest for a super finish. The woman and animal adored the contest and reveled in the chase as adrenalin coursed through their veins.

Deek targeted Lilia. He slapped his horse across the shoulders with the reins to urge more speed out of him. He rode low in the saddle and matched his rhythm to the forward and back propulsion of his scrappy horse. He felt certain that he would gain on Lilia, but then eyed her in nonplussed wonder as Lilia and King jumped every bush and low-lying tree with the ease of the legendary Pegasus.

Jim raced after Lilia to watch over her to no avail. The other horses and riders behind Lilia held together in a tight pack, and entangled him and Rusty. Jim eased Rusty to the outside of the pack and pulled out of the race before he collided with another horse and rider. He prayed silently for Lilia’s safety.

Rick rounded the bush slightly ahead of Lilia and King when her enormous American Saddlebred coiled his muscles and suddenly sailed through space over the bush. The giant horse landed gracefully in front of the bush and kicked up his speed. Weeds hit Rick’s face as he yanked the reins of his horse with agile power before the two animals collided. He almost flew up over the head of his horse as his steed suddenly slowed his pace.

“Wa-ho-o-o-o-o!” howled Apelehama from the sidelines as the governor peered at Lilia in open-mouthed astonishment.

Deek drafted his horse behind Lilia in an effort to catch up with her as they approached the doughnut table, but then she bushwhacked him. She spun her magnificent animal on a dime, and headed around the back of the doughnut table instead. The doughnut distributor held a doughnut up in the air in each hand as the judge regarded the distributor and her hand-off. Lilia and King careened through the air over the head of the judge as Lilia leaned down and grabbed the doughnut out of the stunned distributor’s hand.

The judge bewailed with panicked horror, “A-h-h-h-h!” The judge apprehensively spied the front hooves flying over his head, and then the back hooves. He glimpsed up at Lilia and King as they pounced right in front of the table and cut off the other riders.

Deek and Rick watched with bug-eyed stupefaction at the stunt that she pulled to slow the other riders. This is why she’s a movie star, thought Rick. She’s larger than life.

“Holy Cow!” the governor deplored as he regarded Lilia and King with unabashed amazement. “She’s smokin’!” Papela and Mandy stared at Lilia and King with a dumbfounded disconnect as Lilia waved for a passel of cameras while in wild flight.

Jim held his breath and glued his eyes on her as she picked up even more speed. She rode so low and close to King’s neck that it appeared as if they were one. He eyed her raging pace and could imagine the adrenalin that coursed through her system as she burnt every ounce of energy at her disposal.

Deek thundered furiously after Lilia. He closed a small distance between them, and then the most unexpected thing happened. Lilia and King bounded over a large bush. As her weight lifted off the back of the horse, Lilia yanked on a strap to release her western saddle. It lurched out from under her and flew off King’s back with the force of a slingshot. The saddle hit the bush and somersaulted endlessly until it hit a tree.

Deek swerved to avoid the rolling saddle with wild-eyed astonishment. Cameras flashed all around Apelehama and his group from their vantage point as they watched the circus stunt that Lilia performed for their excitement.

“God help her,” Apelehama muttered under his breath with misgiving. Even he thought she might have gone too far.

Jim choked at Lilia’s release of the western saddle. He stared at her and King’s tempestuous display of unruliness, and here he thought that she had listened to him. Jim could see for himself that without the saddle, no one could stop Lilia and King. They pounded with such a blatant unrestrained pace towards the end of the leg that Jim felt certain that she and King traveled at least fifty miles an hour.

Lilia and King charged towards Derek, who eyed her furious pace approaching and hurriedly compensated for her speed by urging his horse faster than he originally practiced. Lilia and King roared towards Derek like a jet-propelled machine. She anticipated King’s speed in his approach and closed in on Derek and his horse. She flew past them, and whacked the pouch down across his saddle much to Derek’s staggered disbelief.

She screamed, “Hyah!” Derek’s horse jumped forward with stunned surprise and galloped rampantly away. “E-e-e-e-e, ha-a-a-a-a-aw!” Lilia howled all fired up with uncontrolled fervor. “Go, Derek!”

Lilia gently pulled back on King’s reins and allowed the over-sized horse to slow down at his own pace. They cantered in a wide circle and kicked up the red earth at the approaching pack. Lilia reined King off to the side and let the pack tear past her while King danced in the hold with the excitement of the other horses.

Deek expertly tossed his pouch up into the air to his team member who snatched it with agility. He cantered his wiry horse back towards Lilia hoping to talk to her, but her giant horse pranced like a Lipizzaner in the Spanish Riding School. The horse’s perfect and noble physique pawed his front legs high in the air and then reared again with exuberance, which held Deek at bay.

My assistant was right, thought Deek. I have never seen anyone more astonishing than Lilia on a horse. He peered at her, as if she were surreal.

When King’s feet landed solidly on the ground, Lilia bounced to her feet and stood up on King’s bare back. She circled the fence line in a rolling canter to the cheers of the spectators and waved to them. Cameras and cell phones clicked in every direction at Lilia “Annie Oakley” Christian as she gave them a spectacle unequaled in a Wild West Show.

Apelehama roared at the governor’s flabbergasted expression, and yowled, “What did you expect my old friend? She’s the granddaughter of a paniolo!”

“I’ve never in my life actually seen anyone ride like Lilia,” declared the governor in dumbfounded amazement.

“Where did she learn how to ride like that?” asked Papela with startled bewilderment.

“She taught herself!” Apelehama replied with a whoop, “She’s always been fearless!”

Apelehama, Mandy, Governor Kiakona, and Papela felt their blood course with excitement at the unadulterated ballsiness of youth, and they felt happy to be a part of it.

Mandy whooped out with uncharacteristic abandonment, “Go Lilia! That’s our girl!”

Deek shook his head with disbelief when he caught up to Lilia. He had a new-found respect for her, and would no longer address her with the moniker, “Toots.” Jim and Derek cantered up to Deek, and jerkily hauled to a stop next to him.

Deek blurted out with bushwhacked wonder. “Lilia needs someone to watch her back.”

Jim glanced at Deek with disdain and nodded his head in agreement, “You’re right Deek, but when she’s on horseback, how are you going to do that?”

Lilia continued to canter King in a circle as the majestic creature wound down and his breathing slowed. She dropped from her feet to King’s back. With complete control, she cantered King to Deek, Jim, and Derek, and pulled up to a halt as King lifted his front feet off the ground with agility. She said nothing, but the ear-to-ear smile of exhilaration on her face told them all that they needed to know.

Jim squalled at her with anger, “That was some stunt that you pulled back there, pipsqueak!” The hair stood up on the back of his neck when he recalled his reaction to the release of the saddle.

Rick galloped up and slid to a stop next to Jim, “Never, never, in all my days, have I seen anything like that! She sailed right over the head of the judge!” Rick yipped to Deek and Jim with incredulity, “Did you see that?”

“Thankfully no,” Jim shook his head with disgust.